2013 Mini MightyMan Triathlon Race Recap

2013 Mini MightyMan Triathlon - April 21, 2013

Pre-race:
It was clearly not the ideal way to prepare for a race, but I went out with a bunch of fellow parents on Friday night, and drank more than I have in awhile, and stayed out much later than usual.  Unfortunately, the kids don't allow for sleeping in these days.  Saturday was brutal, and it wasn't until much later in the day until I began to feel human.  Went to bed around 9:30pm--passed out from exhaustion.  I was planning to wake up at 6am and head out then, but I woke up at 5:30am and decided to just get up then and head out.

I was feeling much better than the day before, but still not 100%.  Something in my chest was hurting when I woke up, some sort of tightness or strain in my sternum, especially when I looked up or down.

At least it wasn't raining this year...

Swim: 8:10 (92th) vs. 8:40 (56th) in 2012
Somewhat of a rough start, and got caught up passing a couple of people.  Didn't feel like I got into a good groove until the 7th or 8th length.

T1: 1:43 (21st) vs. 1:30 (83rd) in 2012
Included the run from the pool to transition.  Not sure why this was so slow, but maybe it was just because it was really cold and tough to get my shoes on.  

Bike: 15:45 (49th) vs. 16:07 (46th) in 2012
Wobbly clipping in--I don't know if it was the cold, HR jacked up, or first time this season using these tri bike shoes, but I had trouble clipping in.  First few minutes were cold and there was a strong headwind.  Probably had some room to push, legs were burning just a bit, but not terrible.  I held back to save it for the run.

T2: 1:25 (204th) vs. 1:09 (193rd) in 2012
Again, wobbly getting my run shoes on...I don't know if I should have just sat down, or if it was too cold or what, but I messed around a little bit trying to get my shoes on.  Perhaps they are just a bit too snug.

Run: 13:44 (40th)  vs. 15:59 (61st) in 2012
Felt a little uneven right off the bike, especially since the first part of the run was on a field (grass/dirt).  Didn't feel like I was going that fast.  I think I had some room to push here as well, since I think my heart rate was just a bit north of 162.  Got through the first mile at around 7:17, and last mile at 7:01.  There was water at the turnaround, and since I didn't drink on the bike (forgot to bring a water bottle), I stopped to drink some water, and walked for a few seconds.  Partway in to the second mile, I started to get a stitch on my right side--I'm beginning to always expect to get one at this point.  I don't think I've ever been in a race, and not gotten a stitch.

One of the best parts of the race was that there was one guy in my age group 20 yards in front of me for the whole run leg.  I started closing on in him in the last quarter mile or so, and was able to run past him in the finishing chute.


Total: 40:45 (34th overall, 8th in M40-44) vs. 43:23 (46th overall, 6th in M35-39)



Summary thoughts:
Within M40-44 age group, 7 minutes down from the fastest in the age group, over 3 minutes behind 3rd place, but within 40 seconds of everyone from 4th to 7th.  While I'm sort of disappointed that I didn't too better in my age group, but I wouldn't have placed anyway given the gap between me and 3rd place.  Between getting through transition faster, and perhaps improving my swimming and pushing harder on the bike and/or run, I should be able to find the 45 seconds to break 40 minutes next year.  I'm happy with with improving 12 places with a larger field (by 100 people, I think) and taking almost 2:45 off my time from last year.

I'm also pretty happy with my run time/pace off the bike, and even happier that nothing really hurts that much today, post-race.

I think I was holding back a bit, first on the bike to save my legs for the run, and then again on the run to avoid some real pain since I wasn't 100% going into the race to begin with.  For some reason, HR, cadence, power, etc. data is not uploading to TP.com, but I think I had room on the run to push, with respect to HR.  No more going out before a race--not my usual behavior, and not that I go out that often, but dinner/drinks on Friday was with a large group and difficult to reschedule.  I was fortunate this was a short race--if it were a longer race, I would have been in real trouble.